How To Take Those Whimsical Photos Called Bokeh

I've recently acquired a love for the photo art of Bokeh. If you're interested in learning how to do Bokeh as well, I hope my tutorial comes in handy for you!

If you love viewing life ‘through the lens’ like I do, you’ll love to know how to do an increasingly popular style of photography called “Bokeh”. Bokeh is a type of light photography where the camera focuses entirely on the lights, blurring out the rest of the background. If you want to see an example, try searching Bokeh on Photobucket or Google- you’ll find plenty of great pieces! So how do you do this interesting form of photography? You may ask. Many websites will tell you that you need a special lens to do it- but with a little practice, patient, and the right settings, your digital camera can take photos just as stunning without the lens.

1) First, let me discuss the ideal setting for taking Bokeh. You need to have a cluster of lights (Christmas time is an excellent time to do Bokeh because of the abundance of colorful Christmas lights) and the environment around you should be dark. 2) Next, adjust your camera settings. Turn the Macro button on (the Macro is usually represented by a flower icon on a digital camera) and set the flash to off. 3) Find your cluster of lights, and let the camera focus on their color. The background should be blurred out, and the camera should be focused on the lights. However, the camera shouldn’t be too focused on the light. The lights should look like colorful little circles. I suggest browsing the web for photos to use as an example… 4) Snap your picture!

Tips: I have found these pointers to be helpful when taking Bokeh pictures. These are tips I found out on my own, experimenting with my camera. Keep in mind they may vary with your camera. 1) Have patience! Until you get the hang of it, and discover the settings that work best for your camera, have patience. Photography is a patient art. 2) Experiment! I enjoy doing this with any type of photo. Experiment with aperture, distance, lens, and the other settings on your camera, such as ‘snow’. I did many of my Bokeh photos with my camera on the snow setting, and they turned out great! 3) I found that if I slowly and continuously move the camera closer and farther from my subject while I am pressing the shutter button, the camera better focuses on the light to achieve the signature Bokeh look.

* I was using a Sony Cybershot with 7.2 mega pixels when I took these photos *

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